Citizen Science project “Mein Baum”

Contributing to Sustainable Urban Planning via Smartphone App

Urban trees face several challenges: Drought, disease, and tree felling reduce their potential to mitigate the effects of climate change in cities. “Cities must intensify their efforts to deal with the impact of climate change. Sustainable urban planning incorporating nature into the urban environment is key to creating livable, climate-resilient cities for the future”, says Stephan Pauleit, Professor of Strategic Landscape Planning and Management and Head of the Centre for Urban Ecology and Climate Adaptation (TUM). He supports the project scientifically alongside Thomas Rötzer, Professor of Ecological Modeling at TUM, and Barbara Darr, Professor of Urban Forest Management at HSWT.

Martin Geilhufe, political director at BUND Naturschutz, emphasizes: “Protecting urban trees requires a better understanding of their condition and distribution. This is exactly where the Citizen Science project 'Mein Baum' comes in.”

“Mein Baum” invites citizens to document their urban trees. Documentation is straightforward and uses predefined categories such as location, tree species, condition, root area, trunk, and tree crown. The integrated tree species selection helps to correctly identify the trees. It contains photos and a brief description of common tree species. Users can also upload pictures of the trees so that experts can check and confirm the entries. They can also document the animals and plants living on the trees. Entry by entry, this creates a comprehensive directory of trees in towns and municipalities.